Advice and Guidance Quote of the Day

This is a quote which is useful for all those individuals working in the information, advice and guidance sector:-

As a plant needs water and light to grow, so too human beings need healthy self-esteem

For more information on Call of the Wild's advice and guidance courses visit the website

The Importance of Communication by telephone for Advice and Guidance Practitioners

 A good telephone manner is an important communication skill for those who have to receive or make calls as part of their job.This is especially important for advice and guidance practitioners. the advice and guidance courses we run focus on communication skills

Communication is more difficult on the telephone than in a face-to-face conversation as we cannot see the other person and watch their body language. It is easier to get distracted. It is also tempting to try and carry on with other tasks at the same time as speaking on the telephone which makes it hard to concentrate.

Can you think of an occasion when you telephoned an organisation and were impressed by how your call was handled? What factors impressed you?

Can you think of an occasion when you telephoned an organisation and were disappointed by how your call was handled?

Telephone Techniques – Receiving a Telephone Call 

-        Greet the caller with good morning/afternoon/evening and give the name of the organisation for an external call. Some organisations like employees to give their name as well. For an internal call, give your name or the name of the Department.

• -          Ask How may I help you?

• -          Sound bright and friendly: try smiling when you answer a call

• -          Keep a pen and paper next to the telephone to enable you to take notes and ensure that information which is required frequently is close at hand

• -          Don’t keep the caller hanging on for a lengthy period while you search for information. Tell them what you are doing and if necessary offer to call back

• -          At the end of the call summarise what has been agreed and check that the caller is satisfied

• -          Thank the enquirer for calling and let then put the receiver down first. This shows good manners and gives the caller a final chance to ask questions.

-          Before making a call ensure that you have all the relevant paperwork to hand

-          If the call is complex make notes of the points you wish to raise in advance

Taking Messages

-          If callers wish to speak to a member of staff who is not available offer to help or take a message.

-          Messages should include the following:-

1.       The caller’s name, job title, organisation and telephone number

2.       A brief description summary of the message

3.       The name of the person who is to receive the message

4.       The date and time of the call

5.       Your name

Answer-phones, Voicemail and central Numbers

-          Take care when leaving an answer-phone or voicemail message. Make points in a logical order and don’t forget to leave your name and telephone number

-          Deal promptly with answer-phone or voicemail messages left for you or your organisation.

For more information on Call of the Wild's advice and guidance courses visit the website

Relevant Quote for Advice & Guidance Practitioners

“If you don’t

know where

you are going

you will

probably end

up somewhere

else.”

(Laurence J Peter, 1919-90, Canadian academic and

expert on organised hierarchies, from his 1969 book

The Peter Principle)

Looking for information on advice and guidance courses then visit this webpage.

Great Quotes

“If you don’t

know where

you are going

you will

probably end

up somewhere

else.”

(Laurence J Peter, 1919-90, Canadian academic and

expert on organised hierarchies, from his 1969 book

 

For information on advice and guidance courses visit the Call of the Wild website

Negotiating Skills Exercise

Negotiating Skills Exercise

1	The task of negotiation is to agree at the other side’s minimum settlement point.
	Generate options that make the mutual pie larger.
2	The party that needs the deal more has less power.
	Base decisions on an objective standard - market value or expert opinion.
3	Act as if the other side were your partners genuinely interested in solving the problem.
	Somebody has to open but make sure it’s not you.
4	Negotiation has more to do with threat and emotion than persuasion.
	Avoid people’s emotions becoming entangled with the objective merits of the problem.
5	Explore interests on both sides. See the other's point of view.
	Never make the first offer.
6	Never give anything away for free – always demand something in return
	Come to the table with at least four prepared options.
7	Never disclose your bottom line.
	Sharing of information allows both parties to work together more efficiently
8	Listen to the other side, acknowledge their points and feelings, agree with them, show them respect.
	A negotiator’s sole objective is to gain all the money on the table

For more information on what's available on our E-learning academy then phone us on 01639 700388 or e-mail info@callofthewild.co.uk. 
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Motivating Others

How to Motivate Your Staff

You can’t be a leader without followers so you have to understand how to motivate people to buy into your agenda. Motivation is what makes employees act in certain ways so how can you achieve this? Understanding people’s motives – their reasons for doing something is the key to becoming a good leader.
 One of the main theories relating to motivation is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.  People have needs. A need is a lack of something- something we want. This produces the drive and desire which motivates us to satisfy that need. Satisfying this need, or getting the thing we want or lack is the goal.
Maslow’s theory of motivation is called the “hierarchy of needs”. Maslow believes that people have five main needs in the following order of importance:-

• Physiological Needs –

i)        the need to eat
ii)      the need to drink
iii)    the need to work
iv)    the need to sleep
v)      the need to reproduce

• Safety Needs –

i)             the need for shelter
ii)            the need to fell secure

• Belonging Needs –

i)             the need to feel part of a group
ii)            the need for acceptance

• Self-Esteem Needs –

i)             the need to feel good about themselves
ii)            the need to be recognised for their achievement

• Self-Realisation Needs –

i)             the need for personal fulfilment
ii)            the need to grow and develop
Maslow believes that people would not move on down this list to be motivated by the next set of needs until the previous set(s) had been satisfied. There are other theories in a similar vein to Maslow. Another theory by Alderfer categorised these needs into three categories:-

• existence needs
• relatedness needs
• growth needs

Leaders and managers need to have this level of understanding if they are to be in a position to motivate their staff. However to be a good leader and manager you need to recognise that people are different. To display the traits of a good leader you need to recognise that some people come to work to earn money (existence needs) and have no desire either to get on with others (relatedness needs), or earn promotion (growth needs). Others work to meet people and have a personal challenge and sense of achievement ( relatedness needs). Others work to gain experience to get promotion (growth needs). For others it maybe a combination of these.

Motivating People with Existence Needs

• Pay people enough
• Workplace safe and good environment
• Incentives – employee of the month
• Set goals
• Treat people as individuals

Motivating People with Relatedness Needs

• Show respect
• Delegate – give responsibility
• Give recognition
• Communicate
• Involve people in decision-making
• Encourage ideas
• Praise people
• Get to know people
• Team building days and office away days
• Celebrate success

Motivating People with Growth Needs

• Offer support to complete new tasks
• Give staff and employees a challenge
• Work should be made interesting
• Encourage people to think for themselves
• Keep people informed
• Ask people what motivates them
• Stretch people with new work
• Offer training where possible

How Do you Know When Staff and Employees are Demotivated

• Increased sickness
• Increased absenteeism
• Late
• Poor quality of work
• Lack of communication
• Attitude
• Frustration

Why Do People Become Demotivated

• Lack of recognition
• Boredom
• Lack of involvement
• Not being listened to
• Lack of encouragement
• Lack of training
• No delegation
• Criticism
• Too much work

If you as the leader or manager can bear these issues in mind then your own performance and that of the team will be much improved.
For more information on motivation visit the Call of the Wild website. For more on advice and guidance click here

Advice and Guidance - The Importance of Negotiation Skills

Negotiation is an important part of an advice and guidance role. If you have a job in the following sectors then negotiation will be an important skill that can enhance your effectiveness:-

• Support services
• Advocacy
• Housing
• Mentoring
• Youth Services
• Counselling
• Debt advice
• Citizens advice
• Employment advisor
• Career advisors

Take a look at the video above for soem advcie on negotiation techniques.

For more information on advice and guidance training and courses then visit the Call of the Wild website.

Mediation Techniques

Mediation techniques are an important tool in the armoury of any advice and guidance practitioner. They can help with conflict resolution, bring people to the table and help to resolve seemingly intractable problems. For more information on advice and guidance courses visit the Call of the Wild website.

Here are some videos on mediation and conflict resolution

Here's another

Importance of Non-Verbal Communication :Mehrabian's Communication Research

Professor Albert Mehrabian's Communications Model

Professor Albert Mehrabian has pioneered the understanding of communications since the 1960s.  He currently devotes his time to research, writing, and consulting as Professor Emeritus of Psychology, UCLA. Mehrabian's work featured strongly (mid-late 1900s) in establishing early understanding of body language and non-verbal communications.

Aside from his many and various other fascinating works, Mehrabian's research provided the basis for the widely quoted and often much over-simplified statistic for the effectiveness of spoken communications.

Here is a more precise (and necessarily detailed) representation of Mehrabian's findings than is typically cited or applied:

•     7% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is in the words that are spoken.

•     38% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is paralinguistic (the way that the words are said).

•     55% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is in facial expression.

Here's the overly-simplistic interpretation. Where you see or use it, qualify it, in proper context.

•     7% of meaning in the words that are spoken.

•     38% of meaning is paralinguistic (the way that the words are said).

•     55% of meaning is in facial expression.

This illustrates why non-verbal communication is so important. For more information on this research click here.

For information on Call of the Wild advice and guidance courses where communication is so important click the link.

Communication Training Video

Do you have a job in any of the following sectors:-

This Advice and Guidance Diploma covers skills that are transferable across a broad range of sectors such as:

• Support services
• Advocacy
• Housing
• Mentoring
• Youth Services
• Counselling
• Debt advice
• Citizens advice
• Employment advisor
• Career advisors

If you do then you need excellent communication skills in order to be effective in your role. If you want to improve your skills then visit our website for information on advice and guidance courses

Here's an excellent video on communication skills

Body Language and Communication

Communication is as much about what you don't say as much as what you verbally communicate. You can learn so much by observing people's body language which is an area often overlooked. As counsellor of an advice and guidance practitioner you are often concentrating on what people are saying and thinking of a verbal response. However if you took the time to study body language you would be able to become better at your job. For more information on our advice and guidance courses visit the Call of the Wild website.

Advice and Guidance - The Importance of Communication

If you want to become an excllent advice and guidance counsellor you will need excellent communication skills. For more information on advice and guidance courses visit our website